The NBA Development League, or NBA D-League, is the National Basketball Association's official minor leaguebasketball organization. Known until the summer of 2005 as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL),[1] the NBA D-League started with eight teams in the fall of 2001. In March 2005, NBA commissioner David Stern announced a plan to expand the NBA D-League to fifteen teams and develop it into a true minor leaguefarm system, with each NBA D-League team affiliated with one or more NBA teams. At the conclusion of the 2013–14 NBA season, 33% of NBA players had spent time in the NBA D-League, up from 23% in 2011. Beginning in the 2016–17 NBA Development League season, the league will consist of 22 teams; all of whom will be either single-affiliated or owned by an NBA team.

For nearly ten years, there were no D-League teams remaining in the league's initial Southeastern footprint; however, that changed in the 2016–17 season when the Greensboro Swarm (D-League affiliate of the Charlotte Hornets) began play.

On November 5, 2009, the Texas Legends made history by hiring Nancy Lieberman as head coach, the first female head coach to lead an NBA or NBA D-League team.

On January 4, 2010, the league announced its first national television agreement with Versus. Select D-League games and a majority of the playoffs were aired on Versus for two seasons, before the league's national TV contract was moved to the CBS Sports Network for the subsequent two years. Since the 2014–15 season, nationally-televised NBA D-League games are currently aired on ESPNU. Select games are also streamed live on YouTube.

On March 10, 2014, the New York Knicks announced that they had acquired the right to own and operate an NBA D-League team that will play in White Plains, New York. The new team became the NBA D-League's 18th team and is the exclusive affiliate of the New York Knicks, playing its home games at the Westchester County Center, approximately 30 miles north of New York City. With the purchase, the Knicks become the seventh NBA team to fully own and operate their own NBA D-League affiliate.[9]

For the 2016–17 season, the D-League expanded by three NBA parent club owned teams and the largest D-League expansion since 2007. In May 2015, the Charlotte Hornets were the first organization to announce that they planned to bring an NBA D-League team to the Carolinas in 2016.[12] After considering several cities and arenas,[13][14][15][16] the Hornets settled on Greensboro, North Carolina, with its home to be at the Pavilion at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex[17] announced the team name as the Greensboro Swarm.[18] In June 2015, Brooklyn Nets also announced its intentions to place a D-League team in Brooklyn.[19] The team announced on November 5, 2015, that they reached a final agreement for their new D-League team, to be called the Long Island Nets, to play in a renovated Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which itself was the home of the Nets during their ABA years. The team will play in their parent team's home, Barclays Center, for their first season. In October 2015, the Chicago Bulls also began pursuing an expansion franchise in nearby Hoffman Estates, and to play in the Sears Centre,[20] in time for the 2016–17 season.[21][22] On November 9, 2015, the Hoffman Estates board unanimously approved the Bulls' proposed NBA D-League team which became the Windy City Bulls.

The NBA D-League Draft occurs each season and is the major source from which teams build their rosters. Team rosters are made up of returning players (players who were on the team during the previous season), allocated players (players who have local significance), and drafted players. The 8 round draft utilizes a "serpentine" format, meaning the order alternates in each round; Team A who selected first in Round 1 will select last in Round 2, while Team B who selected last in Round 1 will get the first pick in Round 2. Round 3 was added in 2014

Players for NBA D-League teams do not sign contracts with the individual teams, but with the league itself. D-League team rosters consist of a total of 12 players, 10 (or fewer) being D-League players and two (or more) NBA players. The rosters are made up in a number of ways: the previous years' players, players taken in the D-League draft, allocation players (meaning players who are assigned to a team with which they have a local connection, such as a University of Texas player being assigned to the Austin Spurs), NBA team assignments, and local tryouts.

Each NBA team can assign two first- or second-year players to its affiliated D-League team. If more than two NBA players are assigned to a team, the team must reduce the number of D-League players to keep the total roster size to 12. An NBA player will continue to be paid his NBA salary and will continue to be included on his NBA team's roster on the inactive list while playing in the D-League.[29] Each team also has local tryouts, and one player from the tryouts is assigned to the team.

The minimum age to play in the NBDL is 18,[30] unlike the NBA which requires players to be 19 years old and one year out of high school in order to sign an NBA contract or be eligible for the draft. The tallest player ever to be assigned is Hasheem Thabeet, the second player selected in the 2009 NBA draft. The tallest player to ever play, though, was the Canadian Sim Bhullar, who would play alongside one of the shortest players in Tajuan Porter during the 2014–15 season at for the Reno Bighorns.

NBA teams can call up players as many times as they choose, and there is no limit to the number of times an NBA player with three years or less experience can be assigned to the D-League. Starting in 2011–12, veteran NBA players could be assigned with their consent.[31] The first example of such was with Yi Jianlian, who the Dallas Mavericks assigned to the Texas Legends for two games.

Ownership models vary across the NBA D-League. Growing willingness among NBA organizations to invest in the D-League has led to two main models: direct ownership of D-League teams by parent NBA clubs and single-affiliate partnerships in which the D-League team remains independently owned while the parent club runs and finances basketball operations.

In some cases, the hybrid affiliation led to the parent team buying the D-League franchise outright. On March 24, 2015, the Utah Jazz purchased their affiliate, the Idaho Stampede, and after one more season in Boise relocated the team to Salt Lake City. On April 11, 2016, the Phoenix Suns purchased their affiliate, the Bakersfield Jam, and announced the immediate relocation of the team to Prescott Valley, Arizona as the Northern Arizona Suns beginning with the 2016–17 season.[43] On October 20, 2016, the Sacramento Kings bought the majority ownership of their affiliate of the previous eight seasons, the Reno Bighorns.[45]

On April 12, 2016, the former owners of the Bakersfield Jam, after selling the club to the Phoenix Suns, announced that they had been working with the D-League to secure a new franchise and affiliation before the 2016–17 season;[52] however, the owners were not able get a team established prior to the 2016 deadline.[53]

On May 23, 2016, it was reported that a group of investors were in discussions with the Milwaukee Bucks to place a D-League team in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.[54] On June 9, 2016, it was reported that the La Crosse Center officials also approached the Milwaukee Bucks about being home to their future D-League team in La Crosse, Wisconsin. It has since been reported that Madison, Sheboygan, Green Bay, Racine, and Kenosha are also under consideration with each asked to submit bids to host the Bucks affiliate during the summer of 2016 in order to meet the Bucks' plans of having an affiliate by the 2017–18 D-League season.[55] It has since been reported that La Crosse is no longer in the mix due to its lack of proximity to Milwaukee while Racine, Sheboygan, Oshkosh and Appleton remain as finalists.[56]

On November 10, 2016, the Atlanta Hawks announced that they had bought and established a new D-League team that will play in a new arena in nearby College Park beginning with the 2019–20 season.[57]

^"CBA Principal Deal Points". NBA. August 4, 2005. Retrieved January 19, 2011. The player will continue to be paid his NBA salary and will continue to be included on his NBA team's roster (on the inactive list) while playing in the NBADL.